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12 Days of SAKmas: Cheers to 24!

Today I’m another year older, a little blonder, and pretty darn happy with my life. I would say that I have learned the most about life, myself and that I have been on the biggest emotional roller coaster during my first few years of my twenties. At 20, I was starting to dip my toes into figuring out who I was as a women and what direction in life I wanted to take. At 21, I took the first adult step into my career and had figured out more about the person I was becoming. At 22 and 23, I endured so many life curveballs, unexpected successes and losses, but I also truly figured out who I was as “Audree”. I have accepted that, I have loved and embraced it, and I am excited to see how that changes and grows more during my 20’s.

I think it’s normal to start every new year or chapter by thinking about what you want to change, do differently or something that you can accomplish and reflect on 364 days later. I am always guilty of this – I am extremely futuristic, goal-oriented and I focus so heavily on what’s next, versus simply enjoying life in the moment or past memories. I don’t think of this quality as a negative, because I wouldn’t be where I am today, but I wanted to kick off my 24th year with talking and thinking about what I have accomplished, learned and made better while 23. Because, it was one hell of a year.

During my 23rd year, I learned about relationships. All kinds of relationships. I finally dated someone since my previous college relationship. I learned that adult relationships are challenging, that I don’t want to date, just to date, and that being single the past two-ish years have really taught me about what I value in a relationship, how I have changed as a significant other, and that being single is not selfish. I also learned the importance of professional and personal friendships. I have been incredibly blessed to be surrounded by driven and creative people in my day-to-day life. So with that, I started saying goodbye to toxic friendships and situations. I credit a large amount of my success to these amazing friendships I have built during my 20’s, and I want to continue surrounding myself with genuine and positive people. This year I learned that all types of relationships are important.

During my 23rd year, I accomplished more in my career than I could have imagined. Over the summer I made an extremely risky move and decided to leave my magazine career (You can recap it here) and go full-time freelance. I have since worked at a start-up doing branded content and social media, assisted at several fashion brands in their Merchandise, Visual and PR departments, styled and assisted fashion stylists. And, I have also put on the full-time blogging hat – hey there! It has been an unconventional career year, to say the least, but I have continued to learn, and I feel like I have accomplished more than I expected at 23; which excites me to see what 24 offers!

During my 23rd year, I made myself better. I have finally come into who I am as “Audree.” Growing up, I never felt like I was the pretty one, the smartest one, or the “whatever” one. I was reasonably confident in my ability to work hard, but I still never felt like I was good enough. I have now accepted who I am – what I look like, my personality, quirks, my strengths and weakness, and anything else that makes me, me. I know there is definitely room to grow my confidence, but this year I have broken down those mental barriers and have started to believe that I am pretty great, not because anyone else says so, but because I think so. I think this has been the most rewarding and valuable lesson I could have learned this year.

I believe that 23 was a year of trial and error, learning, and taking one large leap into another chapter of my life. I am anticipating to see where 24 takes me this year, and hopefully in 364 days, I can look back again and see what I learned, accomplished and made better. So let’s cheers to surviving my first real year as an adult. Happy 24 to me! xo

Also, are you still looking for the perfect holiday gift? Check out Capolavori! I am featuring their Sipario Bracelet and Anello 2 Spike Ring on the blog, and I am not lying when I say that I don’t want to take them off! They are the perfect addition to my silver collection and I cannot wait to style them more on the blog! Shop the pieces below!

Here is a little bit more about Capolavori, and why I’m really in love with this brand.

What is Capolavori?

Marketplace of high-end craftsmanship straight from the artisan’s workshop, promoting local craft production rather than mass production (competitors)

Owns the process and relationship with merchants

Specializes in jewelry, home decoration, tableware, leather goods, and bags

Each product is unique since they are all hand-made — nothing is mass produced

All the materials used are tracked and natural, and made without any exploited labo